Where To Get Pro-Liberty Legal Help

Keep this list. You may need it one day.

Consider the following three real-life scenarios.

A neighbor calls you at work to tell you a SWAT team has just smashed its way into your home. You arrive to find it destroyed. You find out later that the team raided the wrong house by mistake. Authorities refuse to pay for the damage — the shattered windows, the smell of toxic fumes everywhere, torn down fixtures, holes punched in the walls, etc. They say their actions, mistaken or not, were in the line of duty and it’s your loss. This actually happened to someone else. If it happened to you, would you know where to turn to for help?

You’ve worked hard all your life, building homes for other people. Now it’s time to retire, so you buy a vacant lot where you plan to put a manufactured home where you and your wife will live. You apply for a building permit, but you’re told the permit fee is $23,000 — just to get a permit to build on your land. It’s extortion, of course, but that’s just how it is. This actually happened to someone else. If it happened to you, would you know where to turn to for help?

Following a mass shooting at your son’s school, you’re very concerned about his safety going forward, especially when it’s revealed that the police utterly failed to do their job in protecting students. The district hires a new school police officer, but you have reason to believe he’s not qualified for the job either, so you go to a school board meeting and express this concern. You’re told to shut up, and the following day the Superintendent of Schools notifies you that you have been completely banned from attending its meetings for two years. This actually happened to someone else. If it happened to you, would you know where to turn to for help?

Most people aren’t financially prepared to fight such cases, and even if they are they don’t have a trusted lawyer on hand. So where can victims of state abuse turn to for help? Here is a short list of libertarian/conservative legal aid organizations, organized by primary focus (note: some of these organizations are broad in scope and so may offer assistance on more types of cases than those in which they are categorized).

Don’t need legal help? Please consider donating — you may need it one day.

Property Rights, Economic Liberty, Constitutional Issues

Goldwater Institute
Focus areas: education, healthcare, jobs, free speech, property rights, constitutional rights, limited government.
“In an era when governments at all levels have been clamping down on our individual liberties, Goldwater is winning more freedom for all Americans…The Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation provides free legal representation to those whose constitutional rights are violated by government.” Seek help here.

Institute for Justice
Focus areas: private property, educational choice, First Amendment, economic liberty.
“IJ is the national civil liberties law firm that represents everyday people—free of charge—when the government violates their most important constitutional rights. We focus on the areas of the law that provide the foundation for a free society, and we win nearly three out of every four cases we file despite the challenges inherent in litigating against the government.” Seek help here.

Mountain States Legal Foundation
Focus areas: property rights, economic liberty, gun rights, free speech, freedom of association, equality under law.
“Mountain States Legal Foundation is a non-profit law firm, dedicated to restoring those rights enshrined in the Constitution, at zero legal cost to our clients. MSLF is focused on protecting property rights and economic liberty, defending the right to keep and bear arms, championing free speech and association, and upholding the principle of equal protection. From our headquarters in Colorado, we litigate crucial cases across the nation at every level—even all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.” Seek help here.

Pacific Legal
Focus areas: property rights, equality and opportunity, and separation of powers.
“Pacific Legal Foundation is a public interest law firm that defends Americans’ liberties when threatened by government overreach and abuse. We sue the government when it violates Americans’ constitutional rights—and we win. Every year PLF represents hundreds of Americans, free of charge.” Seek help here.

Gun Rights, Second Amendment

Firearms Policy Coalition
Focus areas: Second Amendment and related civil rights violations.
“FPC’s efforts are focused on the right to keep and bear arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government…FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the right to keep and bear arms and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.” Seek help here.

Second Amendment Foundation
Focus areas: Second Amendment
“The Second Amendment Foundation has been involved in over 250 cases since its inception. Our breadth of experience and expertise means that we have the proven ability to win firearms freedom one lawsuit at a time.” Seek help here.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom in Colleges/Universities

Electronic Freedom Foundation
Focus areas: technology-related free speech, illegal surveillance, and privacy issues
“The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s impact litigation has set important precedents for the treatment of rights in cyberspace. Our attorneys work to defend free speech online, fight illegal surveillance, advocate for users and innovators, protect privacy, and support freedom-enhancing technologies.” Seek help here.

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
Focus areas: freedom of speech civil rights violations
“FIRE has become the nation’s leading defender of fundamental rights on college campuses through our unique mix of programming, including student and faculty outreach, public education campaigns, individual case advocacy, and policy reform efforts. In 2022, FIRE changed its name to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and announced an expansion initiative into off-campus free speech advocacy and legal defense. FIRE defends and promotes the value of free speech for all Americans in our courtrooms, on our campuses, and in our culture.” Seek help here.

Institute for Free Speech
Focus areas: First Amendment political speech rights
“The Institute for Free Speech promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government through strategic litigation, communication, activism, training, research, and education. Our dedicated professional staff works tirelessly to protect political speech under these freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. We are the nation’s largest organization dedicated solely to protecting First Amendment political speech rights.” Seek help here.

Speech First [Advocacy, not necessarily legal help]
Focus areas: free speech in colleges and universities
“We believe that free and open discourse is an essential component of a comprehensive education. Speech First will protect students’ free speech rights on campus. Through advocacy, litigation, and education, we will put colleges and universities on notice that shutting down unwanted speech will no longer be tolerated. Is there divisive politics or woke indoctrination in your freshman orientation, welcoming materials, or in the classroom? If so, send us the evidence and we’ll sound the alarm! You can make a difference at your school too!” Seek help here.

Equality Under Law, Anti-Woke, Anti-Discrimination

American Alliance for Equal Rights
Focus areas: Discrimination based on race and ethnicity
“The American Alliance for Equal Rights is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to challenging distinctions made on the basis of race and ethnicity in federal and state courts. We believe that the ancient faith that gave birth to our nation’s civil rights laws is the principle that an individual’s race should not be used to help them, or harm them, in their life’s endeavors.” Seek help here.

America First Legal
Focus areas: support for victims of woke politics in the workplace or school
“As part of our new AFL Center for Legal Equality, America First Legal is creating a new digital hotline for citizens to report violations of their rights. If you have been victimized by woke politics in the workplace or at school, if you have been illegally discriminated against in the workplace or in search of a contract or government benefit under the Orwellian guise of ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ ‘inclusion,’ please contact us today.” Seek help here.

Freedom of Religion, Pro-Life Issues

Note: Most of the links in this section are from the Behind the Black blog, which updates and adds to its list periodically.

Advocates for Faith and Freedom
Focus areas: Religious freedom, free speech, election integrity, parental rights, and the rights of children
“Advocates for Faith and Freedom’s purpose from its founding has been to serve as a nonprofit legal ministry dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts. This firm engages in cases that deal with important religious liberty issues that deserve to be heard by our nation. Our attorneys and staff are dedicated to the mission of the organization, regularly teaming up with allied attorneys nationwide to achieve this mission.” Seek help here.

Alliance Defending Freedom
Focus areas: First Amendment, religious freedom
“ADF seeks to protect everyone’s First Amendment freedoms. While many of our clients are Christians, we've also defended the rights of Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and people of no faith. Religious freedom is for everyone. In our campus free speech work, we've represented students of varied religious faiths and political beliefs. And outside the United States, ADF International has worked to stop persecution against Christians, Yazidis, Muslims, and other religious minorities.” Seek help here.

Becket Law
Focus areas: religious freedom
“Becket is a non-profit, public-interest legal and educational institute with a mission to protect the free expression of all faiths. Becket exists to vindicate a simple but frequently neglected principle: that because the religious impulse is natural to human beings, religious expression is natural to human culture. We advance that principle in three arenas—the courts of law, the court of public opinion, and the academy—both in the United States and abroad. At Becket we like to say we’ve defended the religious rights of people from “A to Z,” from Anglicans to Zoroastrians.” Seek help here.

First Liberty Institute
Focus areas: pro-life issues, religious liberty
“First Liberty Institute is the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious liberty for all Americans. We believe that every American of any faith—or no faith at all—has a fundamental right to follow their conscience and live according to their beliefs. Our nation’s Founding Fathers established this right as our First Freedom nearly two and a half centuries ago, and we intend to keep it that way.” Seek help here.

Liberty Counsel
Focus areas: pro-life issues, religious freedom, and mandatory vaccines
“Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit ministry that operates a pro bono litigation program providing assistance and representation involving religious freedom, the sanctity of life and the family.” Seek help here.

The Independence Law Center
Focus areas: pro-life issues, religious freedom
“We defend human life at all stages and defend the rights of the people to freely exercise their religion, as well as all the other First Amendment freedoms that depend on that first freedom. We protect and advance these and other self-evident truths through advocacy in courts of law and courts of public opinion, and through legislative, local, and educational policy development…ILC works to preserve religious liberty, promote marriage and the family, protect human life, and improve education and policy for our clients. We are here to assist and represent individuals, private entities, as well  as government entities through legal advice, legal representation, and testimony before legislative bodies.” Seek help here.

Thomas More Society
Focus areas: pro-life issues, religious freedom, fair elections
“Thomas More Society is the premier not-for-profit public interest law firm championing Life, Family, and Freedom. We will defend your freedom when others cannot—or will not.” Seek help here.

Blocked In Traffic by Protestors

Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute
Focus areas: Free Speech, Excessive Attorney Fees in Class Action Suits, (see below)
“The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute stands for free markets, free speech, limited government, and separation of powers, and against regulatory abuse and rent-seeking. The Center for Class Action Fairness, part of HLLI, represents consumers and shareholders pro bono against abusive class action settlements, winning tens of millions for consumers and shareholders, and setting precedents that safeguard consumers, investors, courts, and the general public.” Seek help here.

It was reported on Instapundit that HLLI is seeking individuals who have been trapped in traffic due to protestors blocking the street, so they can sue on your behalf for civil damages.

J6 Legal Defense

January 6th Legal Defense Fund [Not a law firm, but funding and referral]
“The January 6 Legal Defense Fund Foundation has been created as a non-profit organization for the sole purpose of reducing the financial burden on Defendants charged in connection with the events in Washington D.C. on January 6th — defendants who wish to choose their own legal counsel rather than rely on counsel appointed for them by the same Government that is prosecuting them. This Fund seeks to assist Defendants without the financial means to defend themselves. Donations to the Fund go directly to the attorneys defending the protestors and all attorneys receiving funds agree to a reduced fee arrangement in exchange for receiving assistance from Fund.” Seek help here.

American Gulag [Not a law firm, but a potential source of advice]
“This website provides current information about each J6 defendant, including relevant news articles, an arrest map, and list of those currently incarcerated. We also provide ways for you to contact those in prison, and to help cover their legal and living expenses. If you would like to provide corrections, updates, or requests, please please contact us.” Seek help here.

Miscellaneous Other Legal Resources

ACLU: Mostly this organization is now anti-liberty, but it does still advocate for abused and poorly-treated prisoners and occasionally for religious liberty and freedom of speech. You never know, you might get lucky.

Attorneys for Freedom Law Firm: This firm turned up in a search for libertarian lawyers, I imagine because of this statement on its website: “The Live and Let Live Principle generally holds that it is wrong to initiate force, fraud or coercion. In essence, the Principle prohibits aggression while recognizing the fundamental right of reasonable and responsible self-defense to defend against another’s use or substantial threat of an initiation of aggression. All of our attorneys agree to the Live and Let Live Pledge and Statement of Principles.”

Civil Asset Forefeiture, List of Lawyers: This is a short list of lawyers recommended by FEAR (Forfeiture Endangers American Rights Foundation).

Dick Clark Law, List of Libertarian Lawyers: This firm’s list turned up in a search for libertarian lawyers, for what it’s worth.

Disclaimer: The above is not legal advice, just a starting point for finding legal help.